Allergic reaction to bees wax

[Paddyg]

I wondered if anyone had developed a severe cough after making bees wax candles? Is so, besides not making candles, what 'gas mask' would you recommend?

 

[Poly Hive]

Nope never and made thousands.

PH

 

[enrico]

Nope, never but gave up trying to make candles!

 

[fian]

And if the wax is contaminated with other substances such as oxalic acid. In fact it is a substance that is added to whiten it. Oxalic vapors cause coughing, pharyngeal pain.
Origin of the wax and adequate protection.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

And if the wax is contaminated with other substances such as oxalic acid. In fact it is a substance that is added to whiten it

eh!?

 

[pargyle]

I wondered if anyone had developed a severe cough after making bees wax candles? Is so, besides not making candles, what 'gas mask' would you recommend?

My wife is dreadfully allergic to beeswax ... it brings her out in a massive hissy fit ... but only when she's found it in the kitchen ....

 

[Amari]

I wondered if anyone had developed a severe cough after making bees wax candles? Is so, besides not making candles, what 'gas mask' would you recommend?

Do you get an itch in the back of your neck when you pass water?

 

[fian]

¿¡Eh!?

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/threa...swax-color-with-cleaning-and-filtering.25950/#9.

 

[Garry R]

Do you get an itch in the back of your neck when you pass water?

Now you mention it I developed a shocking itch when driving alongside Ullswater in the lakes last year. But when it comes to understanding allergies in beekeeping I think we are just scratching the surface.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

But when it comes to understanding allergies in beekeeping I think we are just scratching the surface.

scratching being an apt term I think

 

[Newbeeneil]

I think it was a deliberate subtly

 

[Anduril]

And if the wax is contaminated with other substances such as oxalic acid. In fact it is a substance that is added to whiten it. Oxalic vapors cause coughing, pharyngeal pain.
Origin of the wax and adequate protection.

There are only 2 methods of turning beeswax white, the first is sunlight. But only using very thin layers of wax. The other is pressure filtering through carbon filters.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I’m sure hydrogen peroxide can be used.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

But are we saying that there are such massive quantities of OA or any other nasties in our beeswax that it's going to trigger allergic reactios left right and centre?
And if so, why hasn't it been plastered all over the media?
Another excuse for the BBKA to start another pointless petition

 

[Antipodes]

There are only 2 methods of turning beeswax white, the first is sunlight. But only using very thin layers of wax. The other is pressure filtering through carbon filters.

Do you know what it is that is filtered out or bleached by the light?

 

[Anduril]

I’m sure hydrogen peroxide can be used.

Yes it can, but just below boiling point.

 

[Anduril]

Do you know what it is that is filtered out or bleached by the light?

Nectar/honey and pollen add colour to the wax, especially if you have dandelions.

 

[fian]

But are we saying that there are such massive quantities of OA or any other nasties in our beeswax that it's going to trigger allergic reactios left right and centre?
And if so, why hasn't it been plastered all over the media?
Another excuse for the BBKA to start another pointless petition

The bee sting can cause an allergic reaction. the amount injected ranges between 50 and 100 micrograms of venom, that is, a concentration between 0.01 and 0.02 mg/L of blood.
Is this a lot?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The bee sting can cause an allergic reaction. the amount injected ranges between 50 and 100 micrograms of venom, that is, a concentration between 0.01 and 0.02 mg/L of blood.
Is this a lot?

we are not talking of bee stings are we?
Can you show me some hard figures on how many people have suffered anaphylaxia from handling beeswax?
Or for that matter - being in contact with trace elemens of OA?
let's discuss facts here not some airy fairy theories that have been dreamt up from goodness knows where.

 

[JamezF]

Given how widely beeswax has been used in cosmetics, domestic products such as polish and even in food, I'd be surprised if an allergic reaction was anything other than exceptionally rare. It seems so unlikely that we'd not have heard of it were the case otherwise.

I guess that doesn't mean that someone might not be allergic to something that has become mixed in with the beeswax however. Perhaps if one were allergic to lavender and the bees had been foraging on it, causing lavender pollen to be mixed with the wax, for example? Perhaps the above argument might also apply in this case, although once "watered down" with other ingredients it may not elicit such an obvious reaction.

Neither can we rule out the possibility that the two events mentioned by the OP are completely unrelated. Something else entirely might have caused the cough.

Too many unknowns to reach any reasonable opinion, I think.

James